Lonis had never imagined that
at the very deepest point of the dungeon, there would be a cavern as vast as a volcanic crater.
Furious magma boiled across the obsidian, sending crimson sparks leaping into the air from time to time.
The air was thick with the smell of sulfur. Beside this lake of fire, as though formed from red lotuses, stood a shadowy figure.
Raging flames blazed behind him, while his figure sank into their shadows, impossible to make out clearly.
…
Elucia stepped forward, her expression darkening.
“Hmph. General Kelu… I never thought you’d actually dare come back here.”
“Who are you? How do you know my plan?!”
At the sight of Elucia approaching, the shadow abruptly raised his head, revealing a face that had long since been disfigured beyond recognition.
His eyes bulged from his face, and his fangs were like a wild wolf’s.
The shadow looked like a monster from a nightmare, without a single patch of intact skin anywhere on his body.
“You don’t need to know who I am… All you need to know is that I’m here to send you on your way.”
Her heels tapped against the ground, ringing out with a cold, crisp sound… Elucia carried herself with such confidence, like a nightingale standing beneath the moon.
Yet at the sight of the girl’s graceful bearing, the shadowy figure seemed to remember something in a daze.
A blade that seemed to pierce through time. A past that felt frozen in yesterday. Only one person had survived in this royal capital.
And only one person could stop his plan.
So he spoke that name:
“You… You’re Lonis?!”
…
…
…
When she heard the figure shout those words, Lonis froze.
But a moment later, she realized he hadn’t meant her when he said the name Lonis.
He meant Elucia.
…
…
…
“Hmph. You think you’re worthy of saying Lonis’s name?”
Elucia showed neither sorrow nor joy. She simply took another step forward, her expression calm.
“Lonis! I can’t believe you’re still alive!!! You good-for-nothing princess, who neglected your duties—what gives you the right to stop me?”
The figure seemed to grow wildly agitated upon recognizing the black-haired girl.
His already grotesque face twisted into something even more terrifying.
“So… I’m not Lonis now. I’m Elucia. As the chosen Hero’s companion in the Land of the End, I naturally have the right to pass judgment on you.”
“The Land of the End… You survived there for a hundred years?”
“You have no right to know that much. All you need to know is that you’re about to die.”
Elucia tipped up her chin and smiled coldly.
In the glow of the flames, her slender white neck looked flawless. But the black sword in her right hand was unfathomably dark.
It was as if space itself were warping, as boundless power gathered at the blade’s edge… Just gazing at it was enough to make Lonis’s back go cold.
But this was only the beginning.
Bathed in the black light, Lonis felt her senses begin to falter. Her eyes were open, yet it was as if she couldn’t see a thing. Voices echoed around her ears, but they all blurred into a meaningless din.
The sensation on her skin swung between hot and cold, while the scents before her seemed to drift near and far.
At last…
A world she had never seen before appeared before her eyes.
…
…
There was a kingdom standing in a land of snow.
Its king ruled with tireless dedication, and its queen was gentle and wise. Their beloved daughter, the princess, was clever and sweet from a young age, with silver-white hair like snow.
Her name was Lonis.
Lonis showed astonishing promise from childhood. Though still very young, she could cast fourth-tier magic. The High Priest took a liking to her and passed down his teachings, granting her the right to perform rites for the Flame Abyss from an early age.
That’s right.
The Snowrealm Kingdom was able to survive in the snowy mountains because it relied on the power of the Flame Abyss.
It was energy from deep within the mantle—and a miraculous power passed down from ancient times.
Once stabilized by the Flame Abyss, magma flowing through the earth’s veins could be used to heat all kinds of machinery, including magic furnaces and steam engines, providing warmth to homes across the land.
So even though they lived in Snow Country, the people of the Snowrealm Kingdom never felt cold. The mountains were rich in ore, and their magma-fueled furnaces let them produce great quantities of Snow Country’s finest weapons, which they regularly sold to other nations.
Everything seemed so peaceful,
until…
…
“What? So many magic furnaces have stopped working, and the Flame Abyss is producing only half as much energy as before?”
“Yes. Everyone’s panicking now. A lot of people have lost their jobs.”
…
The power flowing through the earth’s veins was gradually running dry, with far-reaching consequences for the entire kingdom.
At first, it showed only as an economic downturn. But later came all kinds of vicious cycles, triggered by the growing shortages.
Princess Lonis thought it was her fault, so she devoted herself to regulating the Flame Abyss, working almost day and night.
But Lonis soon realized…
The problem wasn’t that she had failed in her duty. The Flame Abyss had simply reached its limit.
It was like a spring-fed pool. You could carefully clear away the weeds and diligently protect its source, but if the water stopped flowing, every bit you used meant there was less left.
…
…
Powerless. There was nothing she could do.
And in that instant, the kingdom’s situation grew even worse.
Without the Flame Abyss, the kingdom’s main industries were dealt a devastating blow. Even if people left with their families, they would only become refugees with nowhere to call home.
Discontent began to spread through society. At first, people blamed the nobility for living in luxury. But before long, the princess found herself in the crosshairs.
“The princess must not be doing her duty, right? Isn’t she the new High Priest? How come she hasn’t managed the Flame Abyss properly?”
“Of course that’s what happened. A princess that young could never handle something like this. They call her a genius, but can a genius keep us warm when we don’t even have heating?”
Egged on by a few people with ulterior motives, one accusation after another was hurled at the princess.
There were even rumors that Princess Lonis had neglected her work because she was in love—with a girl from a foreign land.
But faced with all those rumors, Lonis had no way to explain. She couldn’t tell people that the Flame Abyss was weakening. It would only panic them and throw society into chaos.
…
“No. I have to hold on until then… The evacuation plan is already underway. We have to last at least until it’s ready.”
…
So Lonis didn’t explain anything to the people. Instead, she spent even more time tending to the Flame Abyss, appearing before the public less and less.
And in the end, that led to…
…
“Look! That’s the useless princess! The idiot who’s left us all with nothing to eat!”
“If you can’t do it, why keep trying? Just step aside already! I heard General Kelu can control the Flame Abyss!”
“That’s not true, everyone… I…”
The rumors, rising one after another, shattered the princess’s heart.
She had only wanted what was best for everyone…
She had already done everything she could…
So why couldn’t they understand?
…
All I ever wanted
was for everyone to live happily and be at peace.
Why?
Why…?
…
But even with her heart in tatters, even under immense pressure,
Lonis
kept regulating the power in the earth’s veins, doing everything she could to keep the Flame Abyss’s output steady and let people live as they had before.
Even if the factories had to shut down, the heating in people’s homes couldn’t be allowed to stop.
Until…
General Kelu, the mastermind behind it all, rebelled.
